bangalore apartments [ federation newsletter
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Bangalore Apartments’ Federation Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 10, Dec2019
Dear Apartment Resident,
Its indeed been a very great start to the year 2020 for BAF. With the successful BAMBOOS 2019 as well as launch of AVENuES, apartment associations have been empowered with wealth of information to run their communities and benchmark themselves against the best for improvements. Or one could set their own benchmark with help of experts, and knowledge tools on our website as well. As in January 2020, with 625+ member associations – we are the single largest federation, representing for apartment community not just in Bangalore, but also in India as well as perhaps globally! Let us harness this association and network to create a citizen power for the city that can contribute significantly to our quality of life in the city. We can take all sustainable practices that we learn in our communities and extend it to our homes, neighbourhoods, offices, social places and at
any other touch points. And BE THAT + CHANGE for the city!
The following paragraph has important alerts and updates for BAF members and every apartment community. Each member can benefit – w.r.t. compliance, saving money or show efficiency in their functioning if these alerts are understood and actioned with due procedure. Failure to understand and apply may lead to additional unwarranted costs to members as well as expose all apartment community to further risks and discriminations.
1. On the matter of KSPCB notices, BAF presented the issues to NGT committee chaired by Justice Santosh Hegde and we were advised to take all grievances to the NGT and seek attention. Further BAF will be filing its first batch of petitions on the Regulatory terrorism unleashed by KSPCB & BWSSB for ECC charges issue of Rs 5 lakhs. The second batch of petitions on the Rs 2-3 crore penalties are also being consolidated for action. Apartment associations who have received notices from KSPCB/ BWSSB/ BESCOM on disconnection of water or electricity or UGD along with inconsistent STP treated water norms report & environmental compensation penalties, may refer to BAF website on responses to be given to the ULBs, as well as further step by step actions
2. BAF is happy to share that BWSSB has reversed its PND charges which were imposed during June 2019. Apartments not using Cauvery water for swimming pool or landscape will not be penalized with high tariffs. However many apartments continue to get billed with partial non domestic charges without realizing that they are getting billed!! Caveat Emptor and Pl ensure you are getting billed rightly under the Domestic – HR (high rise) category of buildings.
3. In the Dec Newsletter, BAF had mentioned about fire department (KSFES) notices & huge invoice amounts (in lakhs) for fire inspection. BAF team has met with the top officials of the fire department and submitted the concerns on this new imposition of inspection tariffs and placed the objections to the same. We do urge for members to not pay this tariff and await further clarifications. Further representations are being made to UDD as well for the same.
4. BAF was invited for Municipalika-2020 held from 12th to 14th February by Good Governance Foundation, under Union Housing Ministry. The event was on shape of building & living in “Future cities”. BAF will explore networking, partnerships and thought leaderships in various areas of municipal governance as showcased in this event.
5. BAF GC held its first offsite committee meeting to discuss way forward for BAF in 2020-21, given that we are now a huge 600+ member organization with challenges galore. The initial draft presented in the Feb EC meeting was appreciated by all.
6. BAF has partnered with Mindtree RR Run 2020 to be held on 23rd
Feb 2020. BAF members get special discount on registration fee. Registrations -- https://www.townscript.com/e/mtr5baf.
There is need for consistent participation & engagement to represent on various above to officials. Reach out to us at [email protected] and engage with BAF leadership team to contribute.
Introducing “CITIZENS’ SAY MUST MATTER” – Express your views on titled subject matter & more…in the January Newsletter!
Cheers, Team BAF! Newsletter Also @ https://baf.org.in/newsletters, Volume 3, Issue 10, January, 2019
fb.com/BangaloreApartmentsFederation @bafblr [email protected] baf.org.in +91 99003 95000
FUN@BAF
QUIZ BASED ON BAF NEWSLETTER OF THE MONTH!
THEME: REST OF THE NEWS SECTION
Q1. For the year 2020-21, BWSSB has proposed a tariff hike for domestic consumers by what %?
Q2. Fire Department has introduced significant charges for biennial inspection. For a typical 7 storeyed
building what is the cost of this inspection?
Q3. How many apartments have been together fined 291 crores by the KSPCB?
Q4. What is the quantum of penalty proposed for occupants of buildings which have violated the KMC
act & Building byelaws?
Q5. A 2% cess is being proposed to be charged on property tax. What is this cess for?
Answers to all the above questions can be found in the News Section of this Newsletter!
SEND your ANSWERS to :[email protected]& WIN EXCITING PRIZES TOO!
CITIZENS’ SAY MUST MATTER.
Express Thy Opinion on Civic Matters!
THEME: PROPERTY TAX
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF EXISTING PROPERTY TAX? WHERE IS IT SPENT? ARE WE OK TO PAY
ADDITIONAL CESS OF 2%? AS ALSO PENALTY FOR BUILDING VIOLATIONS? Do write in @150 words
(+supporting data tables allowed) your rationale for supporting or objecting to the questions.
SEND your ANSWERS to :[email protected]& WIN EXCITING PRIZES TOO!
fb.com/BangaloreApartmentsFederation @bafblr [email protected] baf.org.in +91 99003 95000
BAF IN THE NEWS...... BAF IN THE NEWS...... Fire Department seeks permission to grant fire safety clearance certificate Jan 06, 2020, (News article from The Hindu)
The department has written to the State
government seeking permission to order these
buildings to institute safety measures within
their premises. Once they comply, the
department wants to issue a ‘Fire Compliance
Certificate’.
“The proposed Fire Safety Certificate is not a No
Objection Certificate (NOC) or a Compliance
Certificate (CC). It is an initiative to make sure
that the buildings that have not followed
external fire safety guidelines to have a more
robust internal fire safety mechanism,” said Sunil
Agarwal, Additional Director General of Police,
Fire and Emergency Services Department. Only
the buildings built before 2016 will be covered
under this 'compensatory fire safety system'.
"Many high-rises, due to various reasons, do not
have a proper NOC or CC. Hence, Fire
Compliance Certificates will be issued until
further action is taken against the owners,” Mr.
Agarwal said.
The National Building Code includes a separate
and comprehensive chapter on fire safety,
where it specifies, for instance, how many exits
should be provided in a specific kind of building
and where they must be placed.
Officials admit that while it is not feasible for
buildings to make major alterations to the
external structure, residents will be able to
install internal safety features. "For example, in
place of two fire extinguishers, we will direct
them to have four. It will be like an internal
retrofit, which is possible and practical," Mr.
Agarwal added. Other proposed measures
include installing more smokescreens in staircase
areas and water curtains in basements.
Many apartments have deliberately violated
norms. “The minimum setback size prescribed is
six metres. However, many establishments
which have used that space for other purposes,
and some have even been encroached upon,”
said a senior official.
Muralidhar Rao of the Bangalore Apartments'
Federation (BAF) said there was an immediate
need for agencies to take responsibility for their
actions and awarding NOCs to builders even if
they had not adhered to all the norms. “There
are blatant violations taking place even now. All
those have to be immediately stopped," he said.
Read Full Story
Shock and haw over BESCOM’s tariff hike Jan 11, 2020 An increase of 12.75% has been proposed for
domestic consumers The BESCOM’s recent
proposal seeking permission to hike the power
tariff by about 13% has attracted sharp criticism
from consumers. While the Karnataka Electricity
Regulatory Commission (KERC) is yet to take a
final call, citizen groups have trained their guns
against both BESCOM and the KERC for passing
the buck on people.
Read Full Story
fb.com/BangaloreApartmentsFederation @bafblr [email protected] baf.org.in +91 99003 95000
Flat owners at loss after drain connections severed Jan 15, 2020 Residents of apartment complexes across the city
are in a fix as the BWSSB has started
disconnecting underground drainage connection
to many.
Read Full Story
Bangalore Development Summit By Vijaya Karnataka Jan 11, 2020
Vijay Karnataka inviting and interacting with Bangalore Apartments Federation, for VK Bengaluru Shrunga (Bengluru Development Summit)
‘Soon, Bengaluru will become Silicon Valley of the World’ -Dy CM says number of techies in city to exceed 3mn mark. Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan launched the logo of ‘VK Bengaluru Shrunga’ (Bengaluru Development Summit).
Read Full Story (Bangalore Mirror)
Read Full Story (Vijay Karnataka)
Apartments, KSPCB spar over STP compliance Jan 24, 2020 The Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF),
which has around 550member apartment
complexes, has accused the Karnataka State
Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) of ‘harassing’
them over setting up Sewage Treatment Plants
(STPs).
Read Full Story
495 apartments told to pay Rs 291 crore fine over sewage Jan 27, 2020 Over the past two months, the Karnataka State
Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) slapped notices
on 495 apartments in BBMP’s Mahadevapura
zone, imposing a fine of Rs 291 crore as
‘environmental compensation’ charges for
violating prescribed standards in treating sewage
discharge.
HA Nagaraja Rao, president, Bangalore
Apartments' Federation said KSPCB recently
started issuing notices to many apartments
across Bengaluru, claiming they had taken
treated water samples month ago. "They then
purportedly created reports, which state the
samples aren't compliant with prevailing norms.
We wonder how these reports came to be, when
samples weren't even collected in quite a few
cases," Rao maintained.
Read Full Story
fb.com/BangaloreApartmentsFederation @bafblr [email protected] baf.org.in +91 99003 95000
REST OF THE NEWS.... BWSSB’s Rs 20-crore plant is useless, for now Jan 06, 2020 Citing an increase in the operational expenditure,
the BWSSB was quick to suggest a hike in water
tariff recently. The Board, which is keen to pass
on the financial burden to the residents has not
been as meticulous while planning a sewage
treatment plant in kengeri.
Read Full Story
Bengaluru traffic trashes garbage compactors too Jan 09, 2020 It seems like Bengaluru traffic is not just affecting
the citizens but also solid waste management.
Several compactors leave half-filled to landfills
and processing plants early in the morning to
avoid traffic
Read Full Story
Shock and haw over BESCOM’s tariff hike Jan 11, 2020 The BESCOM’s recent proposal seeking
permission to hike the power tariff by about 13%
has attracted sharp criticism from consumers.
While the KERC is yet to take a final call.
Read Full Story
Bengaluru mayor moots cutting power, water supply of tax defaulters Jan 13, 2020 If the city mayor has his way, top property tax
defaulters in each of the eight zones in the city,
will have their utility services – power and water
supply – cut.
Read Full Story
REST OF THE NEWS....
Plan flouted? Pay double property tax Jan 18, 2020 Property owners in Bengaluru who have deviated
from the plan approved by competent authorities
will soon have to pay double the property tax.
Read Full Story
207 BBMP waterbodies cry for expert care and monitoring Jan 17, 2020 Any lake rejuvenation exercise requires inputs
from ecologists, limnologists, hydrologists and
environmental engineers. But BBMP has none of
them, say lake activists. Civic body officials
involved in maintenance of waterbodies
admitted to the same.
Read Full Story
BBMP looking at 400 crore additional revenue from bylaw violators Jan 23, 2020 The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)
is hoping to fill its coffers after the State Cabinet
recently approved the amendment of the
Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976,
which will see those who have constructed
buildings in violation of the bylaws pay double
the property tax as penalty. The civic body is
looking at an additional revenue of ₹400 crore
from violators
Read Full Story
fb.com/BangaloreApartmentsFederation @bafblr [email protected] baf.org.in +91 99003 95000
One platform for all building plan approvals in Bengaluru Jan 24, 2020 If all goes well, getting building plan approvals
will become a smoother affair in the next few
months. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara
Palike (BBMP) is developing a single digital
platform for building plan approvals by which an
applicant can upload the required documents on
the website and need not go to each office such
as BESCOM for No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
Read Full Story
Pothole injuries? Relief only if you have eyewitnesses, CCTV proof Jan 25, 2020 The BBMP which agreed to compensate those
suffering injuries and damages due to poor
condition of roads and potholes after much
prodding by the high court has now come up
with some bizarre conditions.
Read Full Story
Bengaluru rooftops can generate 2500MW solar power: Survey Jan 27, 2020 Rooftops of 1.4 lakh buildings have the potential
to generate 2,500MW of installed solar capacity,
according to Bescom survey using aerial light
detection and ranging technology.
Read Full Story
BBMP locks apartment complex gate over property tax dues Jan 28, 2020 First, they tried beating drums; then they put up
posters and even seized furniture in the hope of
shaming defaulters into paying pending property
tax dues.
Read Full Story
Residents spend Rs 1,500 daily to get 50,000 litres of water sprinkled on dusty road Jan 28, 2020 Close to half-a-lakh litres of recycled water is
being sprinkled every day on Gear School of
Doddakannelli, of HSR Layout, to mitigate the ill-
effects of deteriorating air quality in the area.
The road is bathed in dust, thanks to the digging
work undertaken by the department of major
roads and BWSSB.
Read Full Story
BWSSB for 35% hike in water tariff Jan 28, 2020 Your water bill could go up by around 35 per
cent, if the government approves the proposal
of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage
Board (BWSSB) to increase tariff.
The Board, which held a meeting on Monday,
finalised the proposal for the tariff hike in the
city after a gap of six years. “The proposed hike
is around 35 per cent,” said a reliable source.
Read Full Story
Get ready for steep hike in your water bill
Read Full Story
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Revenue mobilisation a priority: BBMP chief Jan 29, 2020 Though the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
(BBMP) has set itself a target of Rs.3,000 crore
for property tax collection, civic Commissioner
B.H. Anil Kumar said there was room to increase
the revenue source.
Read Full Story
Pay 2 per cent cess on property tax for transport Jan 29, 2020
Bad news for property owners in Bengaluru. With
the BBMP council giving its nod for collecting the
Urban Transport Cess, the property owners have
to shell out two per cent of the property tax.
Read Full Story
BWSSB to write to KSPCB on Doddakallasandra
lake Jan 30, 2019
It is in response to allegations of untreated
sewage being let into the water body
It’s not just Chunchaghatta lake that saw
untreated sewage being let into it. The
Doddakallasandra Lake Protection Committee
has also made similar allegations, following
which Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage
Board (BWSSB) officials, on Thursday, inspected
the site.
The committee had complained to the Board
alleging that untreated sewage from an
apartment complex close to the lake was being
discharged into it.
BWSSB officials said it will write to the Karnataka
State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to test the
quality of the discharge.
Jagadeesh Rao Vade of the Doddakallasandra
Lake Protection Committee said that they would
also follow up with the KSPCB. “The untreated
sewerage that is being let into the lake has
spoiled the health and hygiene of the lake apart
from disturbing its flora and fauna,” he said.
KTCDA to inspect lake
To complicate matters, the real estate company
that developed the apartment complex has
offered to rejuvenate the lake under Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR).
A senior official of the Karnataka Tank
Conservation and Development Authority
(KTCDA) told The Hindu that they would inspect
Doddakallasandra lake in the first week of
February. “We are inspecting the lake based on
the objections we received by the local RWAs.
We will take a final call before handing over
rejuvenation of the lake under CSR,” the official
said.
Meanwhile, after an FIR was filed against two of
its engineers, the BWSSB has plugged the
sewage inlet to Chunchaghatta lake in J.P. Nagar
7th phase. “Our sewage lines were damaged
during the bund work and, hence, sewage
overflowed into the lake. We have now fixed it,”
said a BWSSB official.
Read Full Story
fb.com/BangaloreApartmentsFederation @bafblr [email protected] baf.org.in +91 99003 95000
Penalty kick: Fair or unfair? Jan 31, 2020 Five hundred apartments caught in a bind as the
Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB)
threatens dire consequences if they don’t pay a
hefty penalty. Cornered by the National Greens
Tribunal (NGT), is this KSPCB’s only way to save
its face and the Bellandur, Varthur lakes?
Read Full Story
Will penalties help stem the sewage flow to Bellandur lake? Jan 31, 2020 Scientists, citizen activists and the Karnataka
State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) are
unanimous about one bitter truth: Inflow of
untreated sewage has poisoned Bellandur and
Varthur lakes almost beyond redemption. But the
unanimity is shattered when responsibility has to
be fixed.
Read Full Story
No revenue site registration sans khata Feb 04, 2020 In a move that would spell trouble for thousands
of revenue site owners, the government has
stopped registering sites with no khatas. It has
now made digitised khata- generated using the e-
Swathu software from competent software from
competent authority
Read Full Story
Apply for building permits from the comfort of home Feb 04, 2020 Last year, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara
Palike (BBMP) tested over 6,000 drawings of
buildings using the software that they are
upgrading for Ease of Doing Business index.
Read Full Story
Health cards, khatas set to be home-delivered in Bengaluru Feb 04, 2020 Health cards, revenue khatas and marriage
registration certificate are among the 53 services
which will be delivered to citizens doorsteps in
Bengaluru if the Karnataka government’s plan
takes shape.
Read Full Story
These bins were made in Germany and Pallike paid 7,000 Euros for a pair Feb 08, 2020 Most people import Porsch and Mercedes Benz
cars from Germany. But BBMP is so posh that its
importing trash cans from Germany.
Read Full Story
BWSSB, industries oppose Bescom’s tariff Feb 08, 2020 A Bescom proposal to hike power tariffs ran into
huge opposition from consumers at a public
hearing held by the KERC on Friday.
Read Full Story
Five construction labourers fall to death every month in Bengaluru Feb 09, 2020 Five construction labourers fall to their death
from highrises on an average every month. This
year, the situation seems worse as in the first
month itself, eight workers were reported to
have died after falling from buildings.
Read Full Story
fb.com/BangaloreApartmentsFederation @bafblr [email protected] baf.org.in +91 99003 95000
BWSSB pushes for use of treated water in Bengaluru Feb 09, 2020 As another summer approaches, BWSSB is
actively pushing the use of treated water for
purpose other than drinking to reduce
dependence on depleting groundwater and
Cauvery water, which has to be pumped from
outside the city.
Read Full Story
Flat owners' association registered under KAOA can't file consumer complaint: SC Feb 15, 2020
The Supreme Court has held that a flat owners'
association registered under the Karnataka
Apartment Ownership Act, 1972 is not a
voluntary organisation, so it cannot file a
complaint under the Consumer Protection Act
against any deficiency in goods or services under
the welfare legislation.
Read Full Story
You can now get an award for conserving water Feb 15, 2020 Ahead of the summer season, the Bengaluru
Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) plans
to recognise those who conserve water. For the
first time, the government utility has instituted
an award – Bangalore Jala Rushi Puraskar – for
those who have implemented water
conservation techniques like rainwater
harvesting and wastewater management in the
city.
The BWSSB has announced five categories:
residential buildings, commercial buildings such
as hotels and canteens, educational institutions
and hospitals, micro, small and medium
enterprises and government buildings. The last
date to submit an application is 5 March and the
final selection is on 18 of March.
Read Full Story
Residents of Mantri Greens a worried lot
over demolition news Feb 15, 2020
News of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) plans to demolish Mantri Greens apartments and Mantri Mall following directions from Karnataka High Court and Supreme Court, has raised an alarm for residents of the up-market apartment complex. The apartment dwellers are a worried lot and have been making enquiries with the builders and legal experts on what will happen to them if their homes are demolished.
President of apartment complex association
Puttasawamy Gowda said all the residents are
tensed as so far, no communication has been
given by the builder or the BBMP.
Read Full Story
Beyond Carlton launches #IamAFireChamp campaign for fire safety Feb 17, 2020
Did you know 50% of all deaths caused due to fire
are from residential fires? Do you make that effort
to keep your home safe? Do you care to check for
the safety of yourself and others at your office?
Asking these questions, citizen's collective
Beyond Carlton has launched the
#IamAFireChamp campaign.
Read Full Story